Bank of America profit falls

Bank of America Corp., the eighth-largest bank in the Rochester market, Thursday reported quarterly net income of $367 million, down 77 percent from a year ago.

Earnings per share of 3 cents beat Wall Street estimates by a penny. Excluding preferred stock dividends, quarterly net income was $732 million or 3 cents a share.

Total revenue was $18.9 billion, compared with $25.1 billion a year earlier.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank reported income of $1.584 billion, or 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The most-recent quarter was impacted by a $2.7 billion charge related to settlements with the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, and additional mortgage-related charges totaling $2.5 billion.

“We enter 2013 strong and well-positioned for further growth,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

Most of the bank’s mortgage problems are the result of its 2008 acquisition of subprime lender Countrywide Financial Corp.

The bank also cut some 14,000 workers from its payrolls in 2012, it said in a filing.